press releases
Contact: NARUC Communications, communications@naruc.org
WASHINGTON (November 9, 2023) — The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners today released a Grid Data Sharing Framework to assist utility commissioners in answering crucial questions related to grid data sharing. Accompanying the framework is the Grid Data Sharing Playbook, produced to advise commissioners and other interested stakeholders in the use of the framework. Additionally, NARUC released an updated version of a Summary of State Practices that shows which states and utilities currently share grid data.
Public utility commissions are increasingly being asked to settle questions related to third-party access to power system information or “grid data” that utilities use to plan and operate the electricity system. In light of state and utility decarbonization targets, projected DER growth, customer preferences, resilience, security concerns and more, questions about what data to share and how to share it will continue to arise across more states in the coming years.
Along with assisting commissioners in effectively answering grid data sharing questions, the framework provides a structure for engagement and outlining trade-offs. It is composed of seven topics with a series of questions that can support collecting, examining and documenting inputs to inform grid data sharing decisions. This resource is a strategic information collection template and does not prescribe a specific process for gathering the inputs nor what the final decision should be.
The seven categories of the framework are:
“The framework was developed through joint efforts among members of the Grid Data Sharing Collaborative, including state utility regulators, utility leaders, distributed energy resource developers and cybersecurity subject-matter efforts,” said Chairman Emile C. Thompson of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, who participated. The result is a collaboratively developed framework for gathering relevant information and considering grid data sharing options and tradeoffs, along with companion resources to help use the framework in practice.
“The playbook and use cases provide detailed explanation of the framework and offer examples and insights to help state utility regulators and stakeholders with its use,” said NARUC CPI Senior Director Danielle Sass Byrnett. “The playbook will assist decision makers and stakeholders in articulating the benefits, challenges and tradeoffs most appropriate for their jurisdictions.”
Three use cases are provided in the playbook to offer examples of the types of information that could be used to answer the prompt questions in the framework. The use cases are improving DER interconnection, enabling fleet vehicle electrification and enabling distribution non-wires solutions.
See the factsheet or NARUC's webpage to learn more about the NARUC Grid Data Sharing Framework and Playbook, download the playbook and find the Summary of State Practices.
To provide hands-on experience with the use of the Grid Data Sharing Framework and Playbook, NARUC will host an in-person simulation workshop on November 14, 2023, from 2:15 to 4:45 p.m. PT during the NARUC 2023 Annual Meeting and Education Conference. NARUC will also host a virtual walkthrough on December 6, 2023 at 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET; register for the webinar.
The Grid Data Sharing Framework and the Grid Data Sharing Playbook were produced with support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity and the DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response via the Grid Data Sharing Collaborative.
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About NARUC
NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC’s member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of state public utility commissions before the three branches of the federal government.